S is for something more than summer

By Michelle Macicek

Summer is quickly approaching and with six children – ranging in age from 17 to almost 2 – my “mom brain” is filled with much anticipation, both good and bad!

They are all in very different stages of life and while there will be a week of summer camp here and there, I want to make sure that we make good use of our time all together as a family.

When I asked them at dinner what they wanted to do this summer, the majority of them wanted to do ABC summer again.

A few years ago, when I was VERY pregnant and had restrictions on traveling and certain activities, we had to get creative. A sweet friend of mine told me about her family doing ABC summer, and we tried it out and loved it!

The idea is to go through the alphabet doing an activity with each letter. Our family decided to do an activity, a food and a movie/show for each letter. For example, for the letter K we made kabobs, flew kites (it was pretty much a failure, but hilarious) and watched “Kung Fu Panda.”

We made some really awesome memories that summer and look forward to doing it again this summer. However, I want to take it a step further this time. I feel compelled to not only make memories but to grow as a family of faith, too!

What if for the letter A we visit the adoration chapel as a family, or for the letter R we say a rosary together? Maybe for the letter S we learn about a new saint or for the letter P we can make prayer cards for our homebound parishioners?

The possibilities are endless, and I am so excited to see how we live this out together this summer.